Squad Coming to PS5 and Xbox, PlayStation Alpha Opens October 16

Squad is leaving the desktop. Offworld Industries confirmed on Thursday that the long-running PC tactical 50v50 shooter is heading to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with a public PS5 alpha opening later this month.

PS5 players can sign up for a limited alpha running October 16-25, 2026. The full console launch has no date yet, and Xbox Series X|S players won’t get an early test unless Offworld opens one later. The studio is rebuilding the controller experience around a new radial wheel for issuing commands and pings, and promising “bespoke polish for flawless performance” on a handpicked console map rotation, according to IGN’s report on the announcement. The 50v50 match format is making the jump intact.

Offworld also confirmed optional crossplay between PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, so console players on either platform can squad up together if they choose. The console version will lean on handpicked maps rather than the full PC map list, with the team saying it optimized for “flawless performance” on each platform’s hardware.

Squad launched on PC in September 2020 after a five-year early access run and has spent the years since as one of the most-played milsim-leaning shooters on Steam. Its 50v50 battles have made it a long-standing alternative for players who find Arma too slow but Battlefield too arcade.

The console timing puts Squad a step ahead of Bulkhead’s Wardogs, which has targeted 2028 for its own console launch. With Squad’s PS5 alpha running through next weekend and the full version still TBA, console players who held off on PC will get their first taste before most of the rest of the year’s tactical-shooter releases arrive.

Our read: Three things to watch from this announcement.

First, what the alpha actually shows about the controller-to-squad flow: Offworld’s “bespoke polish for flawless performance” line sets a high bar for the radial wheel and pings, and PC players have spent years optimizing keybinds for that loop. The console version is a different game at the input layer, and the alpha will be the first read on whether Offworld rebuilt the squad interface thoughtfully or simply ported it.

Second, the optional crossplay toggle is the interesting design call. Console-only by default would have split the player base across two platforms; making it opt-in keeps each platform’s ranked and casual queues separate while still letting friends play together. Both choices are easier to defend than Battlefield 2042’s all-in one approach, and they line up with how Helldivers 2 handled its PS5/PC crossplay when it launched.

Third, the wider tactical-shooter field is crowded right now. Battlefield 6 sits in EA Play, and Gears of War: E-Day has its own crossplay hooks. Bulkhead’s WARDOGS, Squad’s most direct PC-to-console rival, is sitting on a 336,679-player peak on Steam right now, according to player data tracked by Pixel Herald. Squad arriving on PS5 and Xbox with optional crossplay changes the math for any player picking one tactical shooter over another this fall. Offworld gets a window before WARDOGS’s planned 2028 console launch to lock in console players who might otherwise wait.

Edited by Kerwin Stewart, Editor-in-Chief · How we report